It is an ominous feeling. The politics now playing out in Delhi between the BJP and the Congress seems worryingly similar to what the two Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu dish out as regular fare. What started out as a genuine political battle over Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Vyapam, descended to personal, vicious politics by the close of the monsoon session. The maximalist position taken by the Congress, breakdown of communication between the government and the Congress, and unruly scenes in Parliament including the unseemly sight of Sonia Gandhi rushing into the well are all reminiscent of Dravidian politics. Not to speak of the personal barbs exchanged between Rahul and Sonia on the one side and Sushma and Arun Jaitley on the other.
It’s no longer a battle between the BJP and the Opposition. It's more a personal battle between Sonia Gandhi (and her son) and Modi. Just as politics in Tamil Nadu was a battle between M Karunanidhi and MG Ramachandran, and between the former and J Jayalalithaa. If Modi is a strongman, Jayalalithaa is the equivalent in TN. If Rahul is Sonia’s boy-in-tow, so is Stalin for MK, except that Stalin is seasoned.
The similarities don’t end there. Opposing policies and legislation blindly for the sake of opposition; disregarding Parliament (assembly) by not attending it or protesting like “petulant” children when attending; the “my way or the highway” attitude of the top leadership; and of course, the “verdict comes first and the judgment later” philosophy as seen in demanding resignations as a precondition for discussion — these are typical traits of the bitter politics between the Dravidian parties that Tamil Nadu has witnessed.
But there is one vital difference. Unlike Parliament, TN’s legislature is uni-cameral — there is no Legislative Council for the ruling party to reckon with. All that the CM needs is a majority in the assembly to steamroll the Opposition. That’s why policymaking and legislation has not been paralysed in the State the way it has been at the Centre. Let’s not draw the wrong lessons, though!
Associate Editor